As good friends and fellow agents at Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty in Scottsdale, Lara Broadrick, Rebecca Clayton, Robin Orscheln and Shawna Warner have dubbed themselves the Team 4 Results.

In June, the women learned their drive to serve clients in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and the Arcadia area of Phoenix had landed them on Real Trends' list of the Top 250 real-estate teams in the nation according to sales volume.

They snagged the 172nd spot with nearly $100 million in sales, a feat considering that many of the higher-ranked teams were based in states such as New York and California where properties typically have heftier average sales prices.

What's more, it was their first year as a profit-sharing collective.

"We don't focus on the money, the commissions or the rankings," said Orscheln, whose specialties include listings and closing deals. "The cool thing is the accolades are just happening, and that makes us so proud."

Team members say they are equally proud of the fact that they have found success together — as partners, working together and pooling commissions.

The idea of forming a profit-sharing team first began percolating when the foursome — working moms with 12 children between them — realized how like-minded they were. They knew they could trust and depend upon each other. They already were friends and, in some cases, neighbors.

Fighting for commissions in the relatively small geographic area they serve wasn't appealing to any of them, so taking out the "self-serving, competitive" aspect of the business was deemed necessary to create a level playing field, Orscheln said.

They did their due diligence, talking with other Valley real-estate teams about the way they approach business and finances. They hired a business coach to fully ascertain their strengths. They officially kicked off as the Team 4 Results in February 2013.

"We love what we're doing and we spend a lot — a lot — of time doing it," said Broadrick, whose strengths also are focused on listings. "We like to meet and greet, and I do a lot of open houses; I will do an open house every Sunday that I'm in town, not just meeting buyers and sellers but to meet all the neighbors."

The Team, which also can lay claim to having sold the most expensive Arcadia home thus far ($7,125,000 at 5880 E. Exeter Blvd., Phoenix), has a weekly standing meeting and members are in contact with each other frequently, they said.

Warner said they know of no other real-estate teams in the state or nation that operate the way they do, but she said it has been an ideal situation for the quartet.

"This hasn't been done before, where you take four independent contractors and create one entity," said Warner, whose team responsibilities include marketing. "But we knew each other, and we knew the four of us are stronger collectively than individually."

Their innovative approach has also been fully supported by their employer, according to Clayton, the member of the group who handles all the finances.

Clayton, who was out of the state when the rest of the team was interviewed, said in an e-mail statement that she was "blessed to have found such strong, smart women to work with. What we have created is amazing for all of us as well as for our clients."

Which isn't to say it has all been an easy transition.

Warner said, "We had a lot of naysayers saying it wouldn't work, that it would fail."

And the women had a bit of fear of the unknown at the start, too, realizing they were taking a risk. Now, however, Orscheln said they happily recommend the profit-sharing approach to others, although they realize it probably won't catch on overnight in an industry such as theirs. But that doesn't stop them from sharing the knowledge and positive momentum they've gained over the past year.

"We feel grateful, and we like to be collaborative with others in the industry," Warner said. "If you focus on doing a good job and maintaining high ethics, the work will come and the money will come."